2016 AMPS International Convention
Video walk-through and a gallery of models from the scale model exposition
June 3, 2016
With hundreds of terrific scale model tanks, armored cars, trucks, and more on the tables at the 2016 AMPS International Convention in Sumter, S.C., in April, FSM editors Mark Savage and Aaron Skinner had a lot of choices of things to shoot. Look for more images from the show and contest in the October 2016 FSM as well as the Experts Guide to Superdetailing due on newsstands in November 2016.
Jack Fisher, Mission, Kansas
British SAS troops meet with American Special Forces operators to destroy an unexploded bomb before it can be rigged as an improvised explosive device in Jack’s 1/35 scale scene. He updated HobbyBoss’ 1/35 scale Land Rover with Black Dog resin parts and stowage. The figures are all Evolution Miniatures bodies with Hornet heads; the UXB is by Eduard. The vehicle and soldiers, all painted with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, sit on Sculptamold groundwork detailed with rocks from Jack’s garden.
Joe Koenig, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Most of the U.S. Marine Corps Shermans put ashore on Tarawa were knocked out during the landings, including Charlie. Joe added a Formations turret and upper hull to Academy’s 1/35 scale kit to build an M4A2. He painted it with Vallejo acrylics.
Tony Abbott, Sumter, South Carolina
Tony painted Masterbox’s 1/72 scale Mark I Female with Humbrol enamels and weathered it with artist's oil washes and pigments. A block of styrene foam covered with Durham’s Rock-Hard Water Putty and finished with enamels, acrylics, and pigments places the tank at home on a shell-torn World War I battlefield.
Mark Kleinfelter, Elizabethtown, New Jersey
Basing his build on a well-known photo, Mark added Black Dog resin parts and a scratchbuilt mantlet to Dragon’s 1/72 scale M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo. Tamiya acrylics topped with Mig Productions pigments and ice and snow wash put the tiny tank in context at the Battle of the Bulge; a base of air-dry clay covered with Precision Ice & Snow products completes the scene.
Dick Vincent, Raleigh, North Carolina
This is Fine Molds’ 1/35 scale Japanese Type 89 built out of the box and painted with Tamiya acrylics. Dick weathered it with black and dark brown post-shading, and Ammo of Mig Jimenez washes and pigments.
John Robinson, Henrico, Virginia
After adding a wooden box, chains, and tool straps to Meng’s 1/35 scale Renault FT, John airbrushed the camouflage freehand with Ammo of Mig Jimenez acrylics. Artist's oil washes emphasized recessed detail, while pigments, applied both wet and dry, dirtied the World War I tank.
Mac Johnston, Salisbury, New Hampshire
Mac described HobbyBoss’ 1/35 scale KraZ 255B as a great kit, but he made it better by opening the doors, drilling out the exhaust pipe, and covering the cargo bed with a tarp made from tissue paper soaked in diluted white glue. He painted the Russian truck with Humbrol enamels and Tamiya acrylics, and weathered it with artist’s oils and Mig Productions pigments.
Mike Powers, Charlottesville, Virginia
Mike scratchbuilt a microphone and antenna for AC Models’ 120mm British Desert Rat in Afghanistan in 2008. After painting the figure with Vallejo acrylics, he placed it on a base made from plaster cloth over foam and rocks from his driveway
Dana Smith, Weaverville, North Carolina
Building Master Box’s 1/72 scale Austin Mk.IV armored car straight from the box, Dana placed it with other details and painted everything in shades of gray from True-Earth acrylics for a black-and-white effect.
Tim Darrah, Sumter, South Carolina
Tim built an Aussie Abrams with an Arm Corps Models conversion set on Dragon’s 1/35 scale M1A1 AIM. The camouflage is Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, the markings from Echelon Models, and the weathering is a coat of dust from AK Interactive acrylics.
Joe LoMusio, Fullerton, California
Joe camouflaged Takom’s 1/35 scale Saint-Chamond with Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, masking large areas with Silly Putty and hand-painting the small black slashes. Model railroad textured paint and dry pigments added mud to the French tank. The base is a styrene-foam block decorated with more textured paint, dry twigs from his garden, and shaved metal for shrapnel.
Stan Kurcz, Naperville, Illinois
Takom’s 1/35 scale 21cm Mörser was the easiest part of Stan’s World War I diorama — his first — of a German gun crew on the Western Front posing for a photo. The only additions he made to the gun were locking pins and rivets on the wheel spokes. The figures are from MiniArt; the base is foam core covered with a mix of tile grout, wood filler, and real dirt. He made the trees with twisted wire.
Bob Smyntek, Fayetteville, North Carolina
British Matildas on Malta in 1942 were camouflaged to blend in with the stone walls on the island. Bob hand-painted the pattern over an airbrushed base coat on Tamiya’s 1/35 scale model with Testors Model Master enamels. He rebuilt the base of the radio antenna, added cable, drilled out the headlights and added clear lenses, scratchbuilt tool holders, and corrected the smoke dischargers.
Henry Milton, Suffolk, Virginia
Henry loaded up Riich Models’ 1/35 scale Universal Carrier Mk.I with resin stowage from Black Dog and an Ultracast crew. The vehicle’s camouflage is a mix of 5 parts Tamiya dark green (XF-81), 1 part cockpit green (XF-71), and 1 part olive green (XF-58). He dry-brushed with Testors Model Master enamels and applied Ammo of Mig Jimenez pastels and weathering products.
Richard R. Fisher, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Despite fiddly tracks, HobbyBoss’ 1/35 scale T-35 heavy tank was a pleasure to build straight out of the box, says Richard. He painted it with old-school Floquil paints, with minor post-shading, pigments, and pastels for weathering.
Dana Sadarananda, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Dana’s Dragon 1/35 scale SdKfz 234/4 is pretty much out of the box except for a few crew items from his spares box. He airbrushed Tamiya acrylics freehand for the camouflage and weathered the armored car with washes and pigments.
Scott Conner, Leawood, Kansas
To replicate battle damage, Scott applied Atak Zimmerit to Dragon’s 1/35 scale Brummbär (the thin resin is easy to cut). He made holes in Tamiya tape with a leather punch to mask the unique ambush camouflage, which he airbrushed with LifeColor acrylics. Artist's oil washes and pigments, applied both as a wash and brushed on dry, weathered the Sturmpanzer.
Hugh W. Dyarman, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
“Russia, 1941: A Panzerspähwagen has stopped along the line of advance and is set up to relay all radio traffic to command levels,” says Hugh, describing his build of Takom’s 1/35 scale Skoda PA-II. The Czech armored car was used by the German army early in World War II. He added mounts for camouflage nets and a grounding wire to the antenna, but otherwise built the kit from the box.
Kevin Cook, Columbia, South Carolina
Kevin added wire handles and an axe from his spares box to Roden’s 1/35 scale Rolls-Royce Pattern 1920 armored car. Over a primer coat of Testors Model Master enamels, he airbrushed Tamiya acrylics for the camouflage, then hand-painted details. Weathering with Ammo of Mig Jimenez dust effects and engine grime help the vehicle look at home patrolling the border of Egypt and Libya in early World War II.
Chuck Rothman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
After adding antennas to Dragon’s 1/35 scale Sturmgeschütz III Ausf F/8, Chuck airbrushed the camouflage freehand using Tamiya acrylics to model a vehicle from the Herman Goering Division in Italy, 1943. He weathered the StuG with artist’s oil filters, selected washes, and pigments.
Jonathan Gibson, Springfield, Virginia
The Allies referred to a convoy of trucks (mostly driven by African-American soldiers) to supply the forces in France after D-Day as the Red Ball Express. Jonathan built one of the Express from Tamiya’s 1/35 scale GMC CCKW with Eduard photo-etch plus Value Gear details and cargo. The driver is an Alpine figure with a Hornet head.
Chris Lloyd-Staples, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
“These ambulances were widely used but rarely photographed,” says Chris. He relied on Russian documents to detail and paint MiniArt’s 1/35 scale GAZ-05-194. Most of the vehicle was finished with Tamiya acrylics — he painted some details with enamels — and weathered with artist's oil washes and Mig Productions pigments.
Neil Stokes, Mount Olive, Michigan
The operator of a Raptor fighting suit waits for an airlock to cycle so he can answer an urgent call of nature in Neil’s 1/20 scale scene. The Maschinen Krieger fighting suit is a Wave kit, but Neil scratchbuilt the airlock from sheet and tube styrene and wire. There are even LEDs.
Robert Holstrom, Cary, North Carolina
Robert added Verlinden stowage and a scratchbuilt tarp to Tamiya’s StuG III Ausf B before painting it with Tamiya acrylics over Vallejo primer. The vegetation on the base includes Silflor grass, Mig Productions pigments, R.J. tree stumps, and Noch flowers.
Frank Froment, Northfield, Massachusetts
After adding wire grab handles to Takom’s 1/35 scale Object 279, Frank painted the Soviet experimental tank with Tamiya acrylics to match the vehicle on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum. He masked with Silly Putty and weathered it with Mig Productions filters, washes, and mud.
Roger Altizar, Gray, Tennessee
Roger loaded Dragon’s 1/35 scale M3 with gear and stowage from Tamiya, Dragon, and Verlinden. He painted the halftrack with layers of color for a faded olive drab finish, then weathered it with Mig Productions filters, pigments, and washes.
Greg Mix, Lilburn, Georgia
Greg built Dragon’s M51 Isherman out of the box and painted it with Testors Model Master Israeli sand/gray (No. 2138), post-shading highlights with a lightened shade. After a coat of Pledge FloorCare Multi-Surface Finish, he applied artist’s oil washes and dry-brushed salient points. The model represents a tank from the Six-Day War.
Ed Schnabel, Cary, North Carolina
Ed upgunned Bandai’s 1/48 scale AT-ST with a metal-tube gun on the roof and crewed it with a Star Wars gaming miniature. He painted the walker with LifeColor Barley gray over Vallejo primer and weathered it with Vallejo acrylic washes to depict an Imperial war machine on Hoth.
Mark Clabaugh, Stewartstown, Pennsylvania
For a group build at his local club, Central Pennsylvania AMPS, Mark built Dragon’s 1/35 scale T-34/85 as an Egyptian tank. His improvements included a turned-brass barrel, wire grab handles and brackets on theturret, and photo-etched engine screens and fuel-container handles. After airbrushing the tank Testors Model Master Acryl Russian green, he sprayed it with sand colored paint.
Will Lanier, Williamsburg, Virginia
Will applied Zimmerit to Dragon’s 1/35 scale Panther Ausf A with Kneadatite epoxy putty, then primed it with Tamiya flat black acrylic. The camouflage is Tamiya dark yellow, dark green, and red brown airbrushed freehand. Artist's oil washes and powdered pastel chalk finished the build.
Georg Eyerman, Garwood, New Jersey
Georg improved Trumpeter’s 1/35 scale IS-4 with stretched sprue and solder plumbing for the fuel tanks, strip-styrene mounts for the smoke generators, and a real twig for the unditching beam. After painting with AK Interactive acrylics, he applied custom decals on the turret to model a Soviet tank on the Chinese border in the late 1950s.
Richard A. Henly, Charlotte, North Carolina
Inspired by the movie Fury, Richard built and weathered Dragon’s 1/35 scale M4A3E8 Sherman. The mud on the lower hull was applied before the tank was painted.
Mike Trentadue, Richmond, Virginia
Using Tiger Models’ 1/35 scale Panhard VBL, Richard depicted French forces in Afghanistan. He improved the kit with D.E.F. Models resin wheels and a scratchbuilt radio with its associated wiring, then painted it with Tamiya acrylics and weathered with artist's oils.